To be a little bit freaked out how invisible some of my old friends are online?

Now I am reasonably findable online, and most places I have worked have had me in their Internet etc, but a lot of my old friends just have nothing online at all. . and I really do mean at all at least in terms of my stalking casual enquiries. .

My Mum wanted to be untraceable online and was annoyed to find that she's on 192.com - I suggest that everyone checks that and similar sites if you want to find anyone.If people forget to tick a certain box when registering on the electoral roll then you can be found.

On a hilarious note, one of my cousins boasts about being untraceable because she's not on the electoral roll - then puts all her childrens' photos and personal updates on FB every day....

I am the same as heartisaspade for similar reasons, I can't hide myself because my work requires me to publicise my work and my photo is up there for all to see. Other than that, no visible footprint whatsoever, no photos etc. I prefer it that way and clearly lots of other people do too.

You may think that you are invisible, but if anyone wants to find out information about you, they can. It's not difficultI do not have a facebook or a twitter account , yet my name appears on the internet. I really feel uncomfortable with this tbh.

Hello, Just ti clarify I said freaked out because I was genuinely wondering if some old friends had died without anyone letting me know and went online to hopefully be reassured. It's seems roughly that those who were most 'high profile' at uni etc seem to be the most secretive (or most dead. . ulp! ) but it's weird I'm trying to think what people would have done in the past to collect up their networks again.

I suppose philosophically I feel like the ease of the net makes losing touch feel more active and intentional that in would have been in the past.

Older friends of mine seem to have a long grapevine that means eventually they find a friend has died or had a great job from someone in that network. Now it seems that people are more passive about this stuff? ? Am I right?

I asked some friends from uni about this recently. They said it is in case someone stalks them or some weird person contacts them. They don't have stalkers, they just think if they went online, its something that might happen. I find that odd, and a tad self-obsessed.

With an ex-boyfriend, it was because he had several women on the go at once and didn't want them to find out about each other. He was incredibly secretive, and memorably, despite being a recent graduate, claimed he "didn't know how to use Facebook".

I am very findable and it's not because I like to 'splash myself all over the place' as someone said above

I'm findable because1) I have a unique name (literally no one else in the world has it spelled this way) 2) I've never changed my name or used a different one3) I've done a number of projects which have significant online 'footprints', such as conferences, writing articles, editing books

If you Google my name you get a load of projects I've worked on and a few pictures of my face. Not much point in trying to 'hide', though I don't post pictures of my child or any personal info other than on MN.

am a bit bemused as to why people are afraid of being found on Google and craving total anonymity. Unless they're on a witness protection scheme or avoiding a nasty abusive ex.Do you walk down the street with a paper bag over your head? If not, you're out there. Visible to the public.

I hope you guys now that while you think you might be "totally invisible" its only on the surface? Just because an idle google search doesn't throw up a lot doesn't mean thats someone with above basic skills can't find out rather a lot more.

I'm still in touch with a few friends and someone sent photos from the school reunion. It was funny to see the pics. But in a way it was nicer before just to have the very vague memories from how they were at school.

We did laugh when we both could not remember one guy being at school, at all.

sparklingbrook maybe because your life is interesting and successful? I'm a bit boring so have once or twice looked up what people I know from school are doing. I am fb friends with some of them, so others are my foaf (friend of a friend). I only look those up.

One of them quit law school and is now a famous wig designer for the stars. Stars that I actually know the name of. She just had an exhibition of her work. That's the one I found most fascinating. I'm not that interested in pictures of children and husbands. Got enough of those on my fb newsfeed

My name is unusual (I believe i'm the only one with my name in the whole of the UK) so i'm easy to find.

I'm the only person with my name on FB; and somehow I ended up on 192.com (I think it's if you don't tick the privacy box on the electoral register which my dad forgot to do one year when I lived at his house so i'm registered at his address.)